Bill could ease restrictions on balloon industry

State Assemblywoman Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, has
introduced a bill that would make it easier for people who own
recreational hot-air balloon companies to obtain liability
insurance.

If the bill passes, local hot-air balloon companies say it could
staunch the flow of such businesses out of California because of
restrictions currently strangling the industry.

Assembly Bill 2430 would put recreational balloon companies
under the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration and
insurance standards for the industry comparable to every other
state in the nation, said Sean MacNeil, Wiggins' spokesman, in a
written statement.

No one from Wiggins' office was available for comment
Monday.

The industry is currently overseen by the state's Public
Utilities Commission, which requires balloonists to purchase the
same liability insurance that commercial air carriers have, he
said. Because of the strict requirements, many insurance providers
refused to write policies for the companies or do not qualify to
register with the commission.

Insurance standards for commercial air carriers were adopted by
the PUC in 1972, before the recreational balloon industry took off
across the state. Recently, the commission began increasing its
demands on balloon companies, including asking them to carry
insurance policies similar to what commercial airliners such as
Southwest Airlines carry, MacNeil said.

Dominic Chemillo, owner of D&D Ballooning in the Temecula
Valley, said the commission's regulations require him to carry $1
million in accident insurance plus $100,000 passenger insurance,
which comes to about $6,000 a year in premiums. The number of
insurance providers who are registered with the commission to sell
the insurance in decreasing, which makes it more difficult for
businesses like his to carry the appropriate coverage, he said.

"(The PUC is) just about shutting down the balloon industry. If
they enforce what's on the books, prices are going to go way up,"
he said, adding that oversight by the FAA would improve the
industry's chances of survival in California.